EDITORIAL: Around the state ... corruption, casinos, Internet sales taxes

The New York Daily News on Gov. Cuomo's proposals to crack down on corruption in state government:

Gov. Cuomo has proposed a reform agenda. With no particular urgency, the Legislature has responded with measures that can be trumpeted as designed to clean up Albany while getting lost in legislative bickering. Actually, the Legislature's duty is clear.

It must toughen penalties for corruption, give New York prosecutors greater power to investigate corruption, discourage corruption by making it harder for politicians to sell valuable decisions and empower a watchdog to police the political money trail.

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The standard of proof demanded by New York's bribery statute is so high as to be insurmountable; the law must be rewritten to conform with the more effective federal statutes; failure to report bribery must be criminal.

New York's grand jury rules hobble state prosecutors when conducting investigations. They should be revised to give state probers powers that match those in the federal system.

Controlled by political bosses, the state Board of Elections has given up on enforcing New York's campaign finance laws. The state needs an independent monitor with full subpoena and prosecutorial authority.

Legislative slush funds, called member items, must be permanently abolished. The regulations governing who can seek a party's nomination to run for office must be relaxed in order to diminish boss rule and the power to make inordinate demands.

The Legislature must get its nose out of financial decisions that belong properly to the governor. Most important right now, legislative leaders must set the broad framework for the distasteful arrival of casino gambling and leave Cuomo to issue franchises and decide where gambling meccas are best located.

Cuomo's reform agenda awaits. Get it done.

The Auburn Citizen on Gov. Cuomo and the process of approving, siting new casinos in New York:

It remains unknown what say communities will have if Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plans to expand casino gambling in the state become reality. But events that unfolded last week on this issue were not encouraging.

As he has so many times with issues of high public impact and interest, Cuomo held a closed-door meeting with legislative leaders to talk about the status of gambling expansion. And when leaders emerged from that session, they explained that where to put the casinos was a big topic of the secret conversation.

If casino gambling is going to expand in New York, the ideal scenario is for it to come to places that are prepared for it and want to have it. That can only happen with a truly public process.

The free ride for consumers who have been dodging sales taxes by buying over the Internet may be about to reach an overdue end.

Many states require online shoppers to fork over the sales tax voluntarily, and, of course, few people volunteer to pay taxes. Under the Fairness Act, retailers would collect and forward sales taxes to the states. The Senate has passed the bill, leaving its fate up to the House.

Closing the sales tax loophole will level the playing field for the stores that pay taxes and provide jobs in our communities. Collecting sales taxes for online purchases is just the latest change for the continually evolving Internet.